Equifax Data Breach Affects 143 Million Consumers Nationwide

Equifax, the credit reporting agency giant, has suffered a massive data
breach in its systems that may affect close to 143 million consumers throughout
the United States. Nearly every media outlet is covering the story. Equifax
acknowledged the theft, stating “Criminals exploited a U.S. website
application vulnerability to gain access to certain files.” The
exposed data includes names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses,
and some driver’s license numbers – the very kind of personal
financial information Equifax is supposed to keep completely secure for
its customers. The information of 209,000 U.S. credit card numbers was
obtained, as well as 182,000 credit report dispute documents that included
“personal identifying information.” Despite the fact that
Equifax believes the colossal hack occurred between May and July, it waited
months to disclose the data breach to the public.

If you are concerned that your information may have been compromised in
the Equifax data breach, or you have experienced identity theft or other
action you think may be related to Equifax’s data breach,
please contact us immediately. Pratt Clay, LLC is a national trial firm dedicated to protecting the
rights of consumers and will carefully review your case for no charge.

Equifax has created a website (equifaxsecurity2017.com) where consumers
can check to see if they have been affected by the data breach.
However, buried in the fine print are terms that may bar those who enroll
in the Equifax checker program from participating in any class-action
lawsuit that may arise from the data breach.

If you choose to access the site listed above, you may select the “potential
impact” link which will take you to another link titled “check
potential impact.” Once you are clicked on that link, you will be
required to provide your last name and the last six digits of your social
security number. If you click “continue”, a box will soon
appear letting you know whether Equifax believes you have been affected
by the data breach. If you have, you can choose to “enroll”
which will give you an enrollment date.
Importantly, it is unclear whether providing your last name and the last
six digits of your social security number will bar you from participation
in a class action.Contact a digital privacy and data protection attorney at Pratt Clay, LLC
immediately for guidance.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.